Category: Victory & Power

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One More Time!

Yesterday I shared some insights from the book of Joshua. It seemed appropriate to draw on that book again today.

Years ago, I was given a copy of the book, Victorious Christian Living by Alan Redpath. It was written in 1955, long before much was being said about victory in the lives of Christians. Redpath uses Joshua’s experiences to show us how God has designed for us to win. (I would encourage you to find a copy [ebay’s a good place] and read it.)

This morning I was reading about all the kings that came out to fight Joshua and the Israelites when the entered their Promised Land. Moses had led them in successful military campaigns before they crossed the Jordan River but Joshua was given the responsibility to lead the warriors as they defeated the many kings occupying the land.

“…The total number of kings was 31.” Joshua 12:24 ERV

Joshua went from battle to battle. Sometimes he was the aggressor but at other times four or five kings would form an alliance and come out to attack him and the Israelite army. Each time Joshua headed into battle the Lord would give him the same message.

“All these kings met together at the small river of Merom. They joined their armies together into one camp and made plans for the battle against Israel. 6 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of that army, because I will allow you to defeat them. By this time tomorrow, you will have killed them all.” Joshua 11:5-6 ERV

Don’t be afraid – one more time go out to battle; one more time I will give you the victory.

Joshua wasn’t the only one who faced repeated battles. Young David first fought Goliath and then he battled many enemy armies, including one his oldest son led against him. Jesus also faced many personal attacks. Satan came to him with three different temptations when Jesus was physically and emotionally weak. He had just completed a 40 day fast when Satan tempted him with food, with proving his deity and with world-wide acclaim.

“Jesus said to him, “Get away from me, Satan! The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God. Serve only him!’ 11 So the devil left him. Then some angels came to Jesus and helped him.” Matthew 4:10-11 ERV

Joshua and David won great victories because they trusted God’s word. Jesus was victorious over the temptations of the devil because He placed His trust in God’s word.

The Christian life isn’t void of trials or attacks but like Joshua and even more, like Jesus we can go from victory to victory when we put our trust and confidence in the promises of God.

“But we thank God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, stand strong. Don’t let anything change you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. You know that your work in the Lord is never wasted.” I Corinthians 15:57-58 ERV

I just had the feeling that some of you woke up this morning with a battle ahead of you. The Lord wanted me to remind you, you’re not in this alone. “Be not afraid, send the devil running. Our victory comes from the Lord”. You’ve got this – He’s got this!

Trust Him – one more time!

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The Power of Prayer

For the last several mornings a bit of my quiet time has had me reflecting on Daniel. When he was a young man, many from the nation of Israel had been taken captive and led away to Babylon.

There he was taken into the king’s palace and groomed to be a royal aid. Daniel remained faithful to the Lord and refused to serve any other gods. The Lord blessed Daniel for his faithfulness. The kings whom Daniel served, recognized his wisdom and promoted him, even over those who were citizens of the land.

The other advisors in the king’s palace were jealous of Daniel and tried to figure out a way to get rid of him. The only flaw they could find in Daniel’s character was his faithfulness to God. The advisor’s had the king draft a law which said anyone praying and worshipping anyone but the king would be sentenced to death in a den of lions. When the king realized he had sealed Daniel’s fate he was filled with remorse. But the law was the law and Daniel was sealed in the lion’s den.

“ So King Darius gave the order. They brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May the God you serve save you!” 17 A big rock was brought and put over the opening of the lions’ den. Then the king used his ring and put his seal on the rock. He also used the rings of his officials and put their seals on the rock. This showed that no one could move that rock and bring Daniel out of the lion’s den.” Daniel 6:16-17 ERV

“The next morning, King Darius got up just as it was getting light and ran to the lions’ den. 20 He was very worried. When he got to the lions’ den, he called to Daniel. He said, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God been able to save you from the lions? You always serve your God.”

21 Daniel answered, “King, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel to save me. The angel closed the lions’ mouths. The lions have not hurt me because my God knows I am innocent. I never did anything wrong to you, King.” Daniel 6:19-22 ERV

Daniel’s crime was prayer. God’s answer was deliverance. It was then and it still is now.

“So be humble under God’s powerful hand. Then he will lift you up when the right time comes. 7 Give all your worries to him, because he cares for you. 8 Control yourselves and be careful! The devil is your enemy, and he goes around like a roaring lion looking for someone to attack and eat. 9 Refuse to follow the devil. Stand strong in your faith.” I Peter 5:6-9 ERV

We have an enemy, the devil, and he is “like” a roaring lion, but he won’t defeat us or devour us if we stand our ground and remain faithful to the Lord. I like to say the devil is a toothless lion because Christ defeated him and stripped him of his powers.

“He defeated the rulers and powers of the spiritual world. With the cross he won the victory over them and led them away, as defeated and powerless prisoners for the whole world to see.” Colossians 2:15 ERV

The Lord closed the mouths of the lions for Daniel, and He will do the same for us. We have the power in prayer to resist the devil and he must flee!

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Scattered

Many of you know that we spent the summer in the mountains. For two weeks we were in an “evacuation ready” status. The grass and the trees were dry, we’d had no rain and the conditions were right for lightning strikes.

One thing we were told to watch for were smoke plumes. If we saw smoke in an area where we hadn’t seen it before we were to notify our managers who would in turn relay the information to the Forest Service.

We were always on alert.

Oftentimes we experience the same conditions in our everyday life. We are emotionally dry, adverse circumstances come and we begin to smolder. The smoke plume is evidence that we may begin to burn. This isn’t a good sign but it’s something the Father knows how to correct. We alert Him to the danger we are experiencing.

“God, get up and scatter your enemies! May all your enemies run from you. 2 May your enemies be scattered like smoke blown away by the wind. May your enemies be destroyed
like wax melting in a fire. 3 But let good people be happy. Let them gather before God and enjoy themselves together.” Psalm 68:1-3 ERV

God scatters His enemies like smoke blown by the wind, scattered like the seeds of a dandelion, scattered like dust across the prairie. The Lord scatters our enemies, putting out the fire of contention and destruction and brings us to a place of joy.

One of the names the prophet Isaiah used when foretelling the coming of Christ was “Powerful God”, Mighty God.

“This will happen when the special child is born. God will give us a son who will be responsible for leading the people. His name will be “Wonderful Counselor, Powerful God, Father Who Lives Forever, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 ERV

Our powerful and mighty God is victorious in battle, able to defeat His enemies and also those who seek to do us harm. He has given us victory, He has scattered our enemies.

“ Loving God means obeying his commands. And God’s commands are not too hard for us, 4 because everyone who is a child of God has the power to win against the world. 5 It is our faith that has won the victory against the world. So who wins against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” I John 1:3-5 ERV

Our faith in Jesus and who He is and what He has done for us is what brings us to a place of victory. Our Mighty God, our loving Father stands with us against our enemies, (physical, emotional and spiritual). As we stand with Him, we can boldly proclaim “Let God arise and His enemies be scattered!

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Shout of Victory

Today there will be lots of shouts for the winner at the racetrack.

…a little late with this morning’s blog. Kim and Austin came to spend most of the weekend with us and we set up there air bed in the living room area, i.e., my writing room while we are in the 5th wheel. Didn’t want to wake them at 4 am so waited until breakfast was over to put this out.

There shouldn’t just be shouts of victory from the racetrack, you and I should start our day with victory chants – praise because we made it through the events of yesterday and cheers because we are going to be blessed with many more victories, large and small, today.

Every day is an opportunity for the Father to show His love and kindness on our behalf. It’s also an opportunity to share His love with those around us.

“All of you nations, clap your hands and shout joyful praises to God. 2 The Lord Most High is fearsome, the ruler of all the earth. 3 God has put every nation under our power, 4 and he chose for us the land  that was the pride of Jacob, his favorite. 5 God goes up to his throne,
as people shout and trumpets blast.” Psalm 47:1-5 CEV

“SHOUT joyful praise” because “God goes up to his throne, as people shout and trumpets blast”. When we shout with a voice of triumph the unseen world recognizes that our Father, our God, is our source of victory!

Find a reason to shout – for today is your day of victory!

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Spelling Lesson

School is back in session for most of the kids and they have spelling lessons. Today, I’m going to teach you a new way to spell two words, defeat and quit.

How do you spell defeat? It’s spelled q-u-i-t. How do you spell quit? It’s spelled n-e-v-e-r!

Things come up in life and it looks like we’ll be defeated. Some times the hard things make us want to quit! It could be a relationship, an illness, financial problems, a continued process of setbacks but we must not quit!!!

Fight the battle – victory will come.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in victory through Christ. God uses us to spread his knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume.” II Corinthians 2:14 ERV

ALWAYS!

Do you remember the story of the Israelites after they had been delivered from Pharaoh and Egypt ? They had seen God do mighty things and now they were standing on the edge of the Promised Land. The Lord told them they would go in and possess the land so they sent in spies to see what the land was like.

Twelve spies went in; they brought back clusters of grapes so big that two men had to carry them on a pole. It truly was a land flowing with milk and honey as God had said it was (He doesn’t lie you know). The land was lush and beautiful. A land to be desired but…the spies reported there were giants in the land.

God knew the giants were there when He said He would give them the land. Were the giants really any bigger an obstacle than the Pharaoh’s army or the Red Sea? If God had provided victory for them in the past, why would they doubt His ability now?

The spies took their eyes off of their God and looked at their own ability. They had given up. They were defeated! Joshua and Caleb, two of the spies, tried to get their eyes back on the bigness of God and the people were ready to stone them.

“ It is a land filled with many good things. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land. And he will give that land to us. 9 So don’t turn against the LORD! Don’t be afraid of the people in that land. We can defeat them. They have no protection, nothing to keep them safe. But we have the LORD with us, so don’t be afraid!” 10 All the people began talking about killing Joshua and Caleb with stones.” Numbers 14:8-10 ERV

Trusting God isn’t “a way” to get things done, it’s “the way”. Jesus didn’t say I am “a way”, “a truth” and “a life” – NO! He said I am THE way, THE truth and THE life.

We must stay focused on the greatness of our God or we’ll be like the Israelites and quit before we get started.

I don’t know your situation or what battles you have been fighting but don’t quit! You’re not in this alone – God is there to fight the battle with and for you!

Don’t quit – don’t give up – don’t accept defeat and you will ALWAYS TRIUMPH!

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Singing in the Storm

Imagine with me that you and your closest friend had been arrested. Before you are taken to your cell you were beaten and then chained in a dungeon. You know you are innocent of any crime and still here you are!

What will you do next? Many of us would probably curl up in a corner and bemoan our fate. Life is unfair! Fear would seep in and probably cover us like a blanket. Hope would be gone BUT not if we had our hope anchored to God’s love and His promises. (we read about being anchored yesterday)

This is a real life story so let’s look at what these two friends did.

“After they had been badly beaten, they were put in jail, and the jailer was told to guard them carefully. 24 The jailer did as he was told. He put them deep inside the jail and chained their feet to heavy blocks of wood.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, while the other prisoners listened. 26 Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the jail to its foundations. The doors opened, and the chains fell from all the prisoners.” Acts 16:23-26 CEV

Paul and Silas sang at midnight!

They prayed and they sang. Maybe they remembered the words from Psalm 23:

“You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.” Vs 5 NLT

Maybe they thought of Daniel being thrown to the lions or of those three Hebrews would were condemned to the fiery furnance. Whatever their thoughts, they were focused on the Lord and they were singing.

One of the songs we sang at on-line church on Sunday was running through my mind as I got up this morning. Here’s just a few of the lyrics of Raise A Hallelujah by Bethel Music:

I raise a hallelujah, in the presence of my enemies
I raise a hallelujah, louder than the unbelief
I raise a hallelujah, my weapon is a melody
I raise a hallelujah, heaven comes to fight for me


I’m gonna sing, in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you’re gonna hear my praises roar
Up from the ashes, hope will arise
Death is defeated, the King is alive!

No situation or circumstance is hopeless when we know the One who opens prison doors and sets the captives free. No situation can defeat us when our faith is established in Jesus. Our Father, the God of heaven, comes to our cry.

“Loving God means obeying his commands. And God’s commands are not too hard for us, 4 because everyone who is a child of God has the power to win against the world. 5 It is our faith that has won the victory against the world. So who wins against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” I John 5:3-5 CEV

If you’re in the middle of a storm right now, warm up those vocal chords and get ready to sing. Anchor your hope in Christ – the King is Alive!!

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Thank God for Victory!

Last night I was talking with a friend about victory. We’ve been praying for each other and there are some situations that we have been praying over for a long time yet neither one of us is discouraged.

We know that God has given us the victory!

God’s faithfulness is not temporary or conditional. No, He is always faithful and worthy of our trust. Occasionally, we need to be reminded of that.

” But we thank God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, stand strong. Don’t let anything change you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. You know that your work in the Lord is never wasted.” I Corinthians 15:57-58 CEV

We give thanks to God, who gives us the victory over life’s situations. This victory is ours through our relationship with Christ Jesus. It may not always look like we are victorious but when we give Him thanks our Father gives us little glimpses into how He’s working.

Jesus didn’t look victorious when they laid him in the tomb. Peter didn’t look victorious when he was sinking on the sea of Galilee. Daniel didn’t look victorious when he was thrown into the lion’s den. Paul didn’t look victorious when he was stoned and left for dead.

Maybe your circumstances don’t appear very encouraging but God is working!

You still deal with the same situations at work, with your family, your health, your finances, your fears. But God is working. He has never lied, never broken a promise. When we come to Him with His word we aren’t being arrogant. We are being obedient.

“Rain and snow fall from the sky and don’t return until they have watered the ground.
Then the ground causes the plants to sprout and grow, and they produce seeds for the farmer and food for people to eat. 11 In the same way, my words leave my mouth,
 and they don’t come back without results. My words make the things happen that I want to happen. They succeed in doing what I send them to do.” Isaiah 55:10-11 ERV

These verses create a powerful image in my mind. Did you ever plant some seeds in a garden or flower bed? Maybe you were young and impatient. Your folks told you to leave them alone, they were growing under the soil where you couldn’t see. Then one day the sprout popped through the earth, still you were instructed to leave it alone and let it grow. It seemed like ages before it was fully developed. Seed – sprout – stalk – leaves – fruit – harvest.

Victory!

That’s how it is with God’s word. It is planted in prayer, watered and germinating where no one sees but it always succeeds where God sends it. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory.

Stand strong in doing the work that God has called you to do. Don’t give in to the voice of public opinion or pressure of your peers. You have victory in Christ Jesus so stand strong and give thanks!

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Struggling for Victory?

For years the words “victorious living” were not a part of my vocabulary. Life was a daily struggle – Dave going off to work each day, raising two small children, tightening the budget, stressful days and sleepless nights.

There wasn’t much joy or peace in our lives. We loved the Lord and felt it was our lot in life to just struggle through down here and when we got to heaven it would all be worth it.

Then one day we heard a preacher on television talking about Victorious Christian Living. We listened as he preached, writing down every verse he used and asking ourselves if this was really true. After the program was over we looked up the verses to make sure they weren’t taken out of context. We knew Scriptures could be twisted to say just about anything so we wanted to make sure that the intent of these verses matched the message being preached. They did.

“But we have power over all these things through Jesus Who loves us so much. 38 For I know that nothing can keep us from the love of God. Death cannot! Life cannot! Angels cannot! Leaders cannot! Any other power cannot! Hard things now or in the future cannot! 39 The world above or the world below cannot! Any other living thing cannot keep us away from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39 NLV

That message gave us a hunger to know more of God’s word. We began to apply the Scripture to specific areas of our lives. We found that we could trust God’s word in every situation. It didn’t happen over night, it was a process.

I knew so many Christians like me. Living with a motto of “hope for the best, expect the worst and you’ll never be disappointed”. I wanted to share with them the victory I had found in God’s word.

I wanted everyone to know that God is a good and loving Father. His plan is for us to be victorious. We don’t have to earn His love, He gives it unconditionally and His word explains all of this. Since then I have taken every opportunity I am given to help others understand the powerful life God has provided for us.

“And they shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, in that day when I publicly recognize and openly declare them to be My jewels (My special possession, My peculiar treasure). And I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.” Malachi 3:17 AMPC

That’s why I write this blog. That’s why I have written “Like A Diamond”. Our lives in Christ are multifaceted. Each facet causes us to sparkle with the brilliance of God’s love, grace, compassion and forgiveness. We have great value to our heavenly Father. He sees us as precious treasures “Like A Diamond”.

If you struggle with victory in your Christian walk or know of someone that does then I believe this book will be a help to you. It is eleven chapters filled with Scripture and teaching on who God has designed us to be.

My prayer is that we all shine “Like A Diamond” for God’s glory!

 

Book Titles



Books ordered here will be autographed.

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Battle Fatigue

Some of the first images that come to mind when I think about battle fatigue are of wildland fire fighters on the front lines of a blaze, medical personnel battling COVID, law enforcement officers in perilous conditions and individuals who are fighting each day for physical and mental strength in the continuing battle for their health.

Battle Fatigue.

It’s also something that ordinary people like you and I face. There are those days of weariness and we wonder where we are going to find the strength to go on. There’s a story in II Chronicles 20 that reminds me where my true strength comes from. The Lord brings me back to it when the battles I’m facing seem almost insurmountable.

King Jehoshaphat was being invaded by three large armies and he was afraid. He stopped everything and sought God. He had his people seek God as well. He reminded the Lord how He had come to the aid of those in the past and then the King waited for a word from the Lord. The word came – the king followed it – the people praised – the enemy was ambushed – the people took the spoils – other enemies withdrew because of fear of the Lord and the Israelites lived in peace for a long time. A worthy example for each of us to follow.

The battle belongs to the Lord!

“And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, 4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: …13 And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children…Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s…20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper…22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.…none escaped…28 And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD.29 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.” II Chronicles 20:1-29 KJV

The army of the Israelites was outnumbered. Their defeat was certain. They were weak in their own strength and number BUT the battle belongs to the Lord!

We face daily battles, some just seem to be small skirmishes and others can be overwhelming. As Christians we don’t have to fight in our own strength. The Apostle Paul tells us to daily put on God’s armor and then to stand. Stand, stand strong. Each piece of our armor is fashioned from God’s Word. We have God’s promise that “no weapon formed against us will prosper”. Does this sound to good to be true? I used to think so.

“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we[a] are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.” Ephesians 6:10-13 NLT

But as I read through the Bible I found that the Lord promised victory to those who trust in Him. Over and over again I read of those who were more than conquerors and overcomers. I read the stories of those who faced battles and emerged victoriously because they knew what Jehoshaphat knew – the battle belongs to the Lord.

If you are feeling weary, experiencing battle fatigue, go to God in prayer and I know you will hear Him say “This is My battle, let Me fight for you”. The battle belongs to the Lord!

(I devote an entire chapter to being overcomers and conquerors in my book, Like A Diamond.)

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Stand Tall – Stand Strong

About twenty years back a movie, A Knight’s Tale, was released. It is a movie I enjoy and there is a lesson in that movie that has stuck with me all this time.

An old knight dies and one of his servants takes his place in the jousting tournaments. He has to produce patents of nobility (papers that attest to his noble lineage) in order to complete. His papers are forged. As the story goes, this knight begins winning many of the events and advances to the final games. He is discovered as a fraud and is about to be beheaded when a man steps from the crowd to validate his standing as a true knight. The man removes his hooded cloak and declares “I am the king and as such my words are uncontestable.”

The first time I heard it, that phrase burned in me like a fire! “I am the king and as such my words are uncontestable”. It still does.

Over and over again in the movie, the knight is challenged to produce his patent of nobility. Our daily life makes the same challenge. What college did we go to; what company do we work for; which area of town do we live in…the list of challenges is endless. Those are the external rebuffs to our character. The emotional ones, which we often bring on ourselves, are even more daunting. We deal with feelings of unworthiness and criticism. Satan is referred to as the “accuser of the brethren” however what God says about us exceeds any accusations that he may bring.

We have a King who is willing to attest to our rights and standing. He is Jesus Christ, King of Kings. What He say about me, trumps anything else. His word is uncontestable!!

“The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them. 15 The Spirit that we received is not a spirit that makes us slaves again and causes us to fear. The Spirit that we have makes us God’s chosen children. And with that Spirit we cry out, “ Abba, Father.” Romans 8:14-15 ERV

“So what should we say about this? If God is for us, no one can stand against us. And God is with us.” Romans 8:31 ERV

“But you are his chosen people, the King’s priests. You are a holy nation, people who belong to God. He chose you to tell about the wonderful things he has done. He brought you out of the darkness of sin into his wonderful light.” I Peter 2:9 ERV

“and from Jesus Christ. Jesus is the faithful witness. He is first among all who will be raised from death. He is the ruler of the kings of the earth. Jesus is the one who loves us and has made us free from our sins with his blood sacrifice. 6 He made us his kingdom and priests who serve God his Father. To Jesus be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.” Revelation 1:5-6 ERV

Read the verses above again. Those are our patents of nobility. We walk worthy because the King says we are. His Word is without contestation!

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